Detroit underwear bomber’s convictions affirmed

The 6th Circuit has affirmed the convictions and multiple life sentences of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, better known as the “underwear bomber.”

Al Qaeda recruited Abdulmutallab for a suicide attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, bound for Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas Day 2009. He was equipped with exploding underpants and was able to thwart airport security because the device had no metal parts.

When the time came, Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate the device. Instead of an explosion, which was relatively good news for the passengers and crew, the underwear bomb instead produced a fireball that ignited some carpeting, a portion of the aircraft’s wall, and Abdulmutallab’s pants, which was really bad news for him.

One contemporary news account of the incident said that immediately afterward, a passenger who helped restrain Abdulmutallab as others extinguished the blaze in his groin and the surrounding area, said he appeared as if he were in a trance.

Later, FBI said its best guess as to why the device didn’t work as intended was that Abdulmutallab wore it for three weeks before attempting to use it.

Abdulmutallab insisted on representing himself at trial and pleaded guilty after one day of testimony.

In affirming his convictions and sentences, the 6th Circuit said Abdulmutallab was competent to stand trial, to represent himself and to enter a guilty plea. The life sentences were neither cruel and unusual, and were not substantively unreasonable, the 6th Circuit said.

“Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate a bomb on a plane with 289 passengers. He may have been the only person harmed, but that is only because his bomb failed to properly work.

“These facts, and the fact that Abdulmutallab’s sentence was within the guideline range and proportional, inform this Court that his sentence is not ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment,” the appeals court said.